Lamp package



1962 R. w. DRAKE ETAL 3,051,369

LAMP PACKAGE Filed Sept. 14, 1959 STUAET M. KLEINFELTEE ROBERT M DRAKE.

. INVENTORS BYzg 3 A'I'I'ORNEY numllll United States Patent Ofifice 3,651,369 Patented Aug. 28, 1962 3,051,369 LAMP PAKIKAGE Robert W. Drake, Melrose, and Stuart M. Kleinfelter,

Topsfield, Mass., assignors to Sylvania Electric Products Inc., a corporation of Delaware Filed Sept. 14, 1959, Ser- No. 839,694 4 Claims. (Cl. 229-39) This invention relates to packages for electric lamps and for devices having the approximate shape of such lamps.

Packages for such lamps have previously been of a few general types. In one type, a four-sided box with open ends and a corrugated interior was simply pushed snugly over the lamp. There was considerable waste space in such a package, and to save space, various two-lamp packages have been used in which the lamps can fit more closely together, the large or bulb end of one lamp being stacked near the small or base end of the other.

However, a corrugated inner portion on the packages was still necessary to prevent the bulb from slipping out, unless the box was made with a center partition with a hole into which the side of the bulb fitted. However, in such prior devices, it the partition were placed so that the bulb would be held snugly, the package would be deformed somewhat and weakened by the act of placing the bulb in it.

We have discovered that by placing a tab on the end of the package, so that the insertion of the bulb would automatically push the tab into a hole in the partition, a selflocking action is obtained which holds the bulbs firmly in the container, even though the hole in the partition is considerably larger than the bulb. The self-locking tab strengthens the package, and is easily adapted to automatic packaging operations, for the mere insertion of the bulb automatically sets the tube in position. The package is especially strengthened if the tab extends from the end of a flap which closes one end of the other partition when the tab is pushed in and held down by the bulb.

Other objects, advantages and features of the invention will be apparent from the following specification, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the package with the lamps inside;

FIGURE 2 is a profile sectional View showing the lamps and tabs in position;

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view of the progress of the lamp into the package;

FIGURE 4 is a view of the folded portion of the tab; and

FIGURE 5 is a view showing a section of the package with a lamp in phantom, the view being taken perpendicularly to FIGURE 2.

In FIGURE 1, the package 1 has the cardboard sides 2, 3, 4 and 5, formed by folding a cardboard piece into the form of a parallelepiped the ends 6, 7 of which overlap each other slightly and are glued together. The side 4 is not shown in FIGURE 1 but is shown sectionally in FIG- URE 2. A partition 8 extends down the middle of the package and has small flaps 9 along its sides, the flaps 9 being glued to the inside walls of the package to hold the partition 8 in place. The partition has two partially cutout tabs 10, 11, which can be bent out by the insertion of bulbs 12, 13 to form openings 15, 16, which are somewhat larger than the side walls 17, 18 of bulbs 12 and 13 which are to fit into them, respectively. The side 4 has an extending flap 19 which closes off the end of one of the partioned compartments, and tab 20 folds onto the partition, tab 20 being scored at 21 and 22 and cut to provide a less wide end portion 23 which folds down into the opening 15 when the bulb 12 is in place. A similar tab 24 having portions 25, 26 extends across the end of the other compartment on the other end of the partition.

Each of the openings 15, 16 is in the form of a circle with a segment missing on the part nearest to the center of the partition, the cut-outs 17 18 being scored to bend on the are 27, 28 defining the missing segment, as shown in FIGURE 5.

In FIGURE 3, the lamp 12 is inserted into the package by being pushed against the tab 20 to bend it inward and down through the openings 15, 16. Before being contacted by the bulb, the tab 20 extends at a wide angle with flap 19 so that it Will be directly in the path of the lamp bulb.

FIGURE 4 shows the shape of the tab 20, the portion 23 being shaped to fit through the opening 15. The tabs 20, 24 are made ear-shaped to conform on their outer perimeter to the inner perimeter of the openings 15, 16 in the partition.

What we claim is:

1. A package for an electric lamp or the like, comprising a parallelepiped of cardboard sheet, a partition down the middle of said parallelepiped, said partition having two partially cut-out flaps therein capable of being folded in a direction away from said partition, a flap for closing an end of one of the compartments formed by the partition, said last-mentioned flap having a tab extending part way across the end of the other compartment when not folded back, and being foldable back onto said partition and into said out out portion.

2. The package of claim 1, in which the flap is wider than the tab.

3. The package of claim 1, in which the flap is wider than the tab and in which the tab is ear-shaped to fit into the opening in the partition.

4. A folding paper light bulb package comprising a rectangular sleeve having a partition parallel to two opposite walls of the sleeve and dividing the sleeve into two compartments, the said partition having bulb receiving apertures spaced from each other and from the ends of the partition, for accommodating and holding a pair of bulbs in position in the said compartments, and an end closure, comprising an end panel hingedly joined to one of the said opposite walls and foldable so as to close the adjacent compartment end and lie in supported relation to the partition, the said end panel having a flap extending beyond the said partition and bendable down against the same in position to be held thereagainst by a bulb inserted in the other said compartment.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Great Britain May 13, 1920 

